A Moment of Silence for Our Martyrs and Our Oath!..

Following the martyrdom of our soldiers in northern Iraq, even writers who support the government have openly named the true culprit and demanded that the US and Israel be held accountable.

However, neither in the security meeting chaired by Erdoğan was a word spoken that would offend the murderers of our children, nor was a roadmap put forward to combat them, nor did any significant reaction come from the opposition parties.

The public was curious about what Devlet Bahçeli, the leader of the MHP and the major partner of the People's Alliance, would say. In today's parliamentary group meeting, he thundered against both those he described as "separatists" within the country and the US-Israel axis.

He made several suggestions for combating the "separatists" within.

For instance, he called on the families of martyrs and our veterans to hold the CHP accountable at the ballot box in the March 31 elections...

Again, regarding the March 31 elections, he pointed to the ballot box against Zülfü Livaneli, who said, "Either the reactionary armies, hunter battalions, or the operation army will win"...

He called for no terrorist or their sympathizer, especially those from DEM, to be harbored in the hills, plains, municipalities, cities, or the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM)...

He asked the President of the Constitutional Court, "Mr. Zühtü," the following: "Do you and the other court members who think like you have the heart to explain the reason for the blood shed by our martyrs and the tears of our mothers who are crying out in agony?"

After criticizing Zühtü Arslan by saying, "You are worried about the wrong court decision; we are worried about the homeland," he demanded that the decision regarding Can Atalay be read immediately in the TBMM...

As for the US and Israel, he declared the following to the whole world:

"We say enough is enough, we say it is enough; we shout to the whole world that we no longer have the patience or tolerance to be stabbed in the back while they look us in the eye... Developments have revealed in all their nakedness that the global power, which wants to reorganize our country and our region, is staging a long-term scenario that will result in disaster for us. There is no longer any aspect of the US's relationship and connection with the PKK/YPG that can be hidden. Moreover, our state's archives are full of information and documents that will confirm and verify the relations between the PKK and Europe, and the PKK and the US. Turkey will undoubtedly not ignore these vile relations and will not remain a spectator to being undermined from within by allies it calls so-called friends."

After these justified and harsh expressions, one would naturally expect him to propose solutions for combating them, right?

Not a chance.

He only repeated that they are ready to provide all kinds of support the government needs... He said, "We have full faith and confidence in the Presidential Cabinet and the heroic Turkish Armed Forces." He also demanded the establishment of a "Peace Line for Turkey's Security and Future," with a set duration, extending to a depth of 60 km and reaching as far as Hatay, and insisted that not even a fly should be allowed into this line.

And he concluded his speech with these words:

"The People's Alliance is sworn to end terrorism... Martyrs do not die, the homeland is indivisible."

Can separatist terrorism be ended with methods that target the mosquitoes rather than the main swamp? Let us remain silent and let a pen of the government speak. After our 12 martyrs on December 22-23, he wrote exactly this:

"Unless we take a clear, decisive, and sharp stance against the US and those certain European countries, this terrorism will not end. No matter what we do, it will not end. The only solution is to take a decisive stance against these countries that harbor terrorism, at the cost of all consequences. War? If necessary, even this can be risked."

As for the phrase "Martyrs do not die, the homeland is indivisible"; yes, for 40 years, martyrs have not died, and they will not. Thank God, the homeland has not been divided, and it will not be. But where will this lead when this vital issue is used as political material, the nation is divided and polarized in this way, and state institutions are targeted?!

LOOK AT WHO IS CREATING "AWARENESS" IN SCHOOLS

Following the loss of our 9 martyrs, the most concrete step came from Minister of National Education Yusuf Tekin. While announcing the decision to hold a 1-minute moment of silence in all schools before the flag ceremony "in order to keep the cherished memories of our martyrs alive and to equip the rising new generation spiritually, physically, and morally with the love of the homeland," Tekin emphasized the following:

"As the Ministry of National Education, our most general goal is to raise our children as individuals who adopt, protect, and develop the national, moral, humanitarian, spiritual, and cultural values of the Turkish Nation; who love and always strive to exalt their family, homeland, and nation; and who know their duties and responsibilities towards the Republic of Turkey and have turned these into behavior."

In accordance with this decision, a moment of silence was held for our martyrs in all schools yesterday. Minister Tekin also attended a ceremony at a school in Ankara and spoke as follows:

"Treacherous terrorist organizations, which are subcontractors of imperial powers, martyred 9 of our soldiers. May they all rest in heaven. May all our martyrs, especially Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, and all our ancestors and elders who have made sacrifices and strived for this country, rest in heaven. We, as individuals, are both experiencing this pain. And as the Minister of National Education, I have another duty. One of our most fundamental duties as a ministry is to carry the unity and solidarity of this country, and the love and respect of the children living in this country for their homeland and nation, to future generations. Today, we tried to create awareness. May God never let us experience such pain again. We have all given this message together: This country, with all its youth and citizens from 7 to 70, will defend its homeland soil as a whole and will make every kind of sacrifice. Let everyone know this as such."

What beautiful words and "awareness," right?!

But I wish we did not remember how he—when he was the Undersecretary of the Ministry of National Education—defended the "opening-up" processes that emboldened the PKK and separatism under the name of "democratization" packages, and especially how he advocated for the removal of the Student Oath from schools!..

That he said, "If Turkey's democratization process is to work healthily, one of the ministries that will provide the most important contribution to this is the Ministry of National Education"...

That he said, "If we want to live in Turkey, rather than things forced upon people, things that will make them more comfortable should be prepared... A new understanding of the state has emerged in the world, and we have to keep up with it."...

That he targeted the Student Oath with words like "the state's ideological apparatus," "practices that do not suit us, which everyone now says, 'Can this happen in this age?'," "a legacy of the era of fascism," and "a policy of raising a single-type citizen that continued with the proclamation of the Republic," and described its removal as a "huge step" and an "important paradigm shift"...

That we did not know he likened issues in the Constitution such as "Turkish nation, Turkish state, Turkish nationalism, and Atatürk's nationalism" to "disease-spreading viruses," explained that with the constitutional amendment discussions, "a source of disease injected into our social life is being tried to be treated," praised the attitude of the BDP (now DEM) on these issues, and saw "a constitution that does not contain expressions harboring ethnic implications as quite important in terms of the construction of the new Turkey"!..

Bahçeli had reacted to those opening-up processes with these words: "In an MHP government, we will not let Erdoğan go. I will hang the sign 'How Happy Is the One Who Says I Am a Turk' above the door of his house, and I will ensure that the children of his neighborhood recite the Student Oath in front of Erdoğan's house every day before going to school. I will have the letters T.C. written on all state institutions."

One would have wished that in his speech today, he had at least made this call to the government:

"Let us crown the 1-minute moment of silence for our martyrs in schools with the decision to have the Student Oath recited again."

Müyesser YILDIZ

January 16, 2024